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* DB/C Newsletter *
* September 1996 *
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Editor's Notes
The alpha test version of the DB/C File System Server (FSS) is available
for you to play with. It can be found in /pub/misc/fsstest at ftp.swc.com.
Just download fss.zip, unzip it, and then read the readme file.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS VERSION OF FSS IS AN INCOMPLETE PRODUCT. It is
read-only. It only works in Windows 95 and Windows NT/Intel. We are only
making it available for you to use for demonstration and to play with.
We will be making the a beta test version of FSS available in October.
AGAIN PLEASE NOTE: The new area code of the phone numbers of Subject,
Wills and Company is 630. For convenience, you will be able to use the
existing area code, 708, until November 29th.
don.wills@swc.com
Is a Collapse of the Internet Imminent?
Several recent magazine articles have predicted an imminent collapse
of the Internet. One person that has forecast such a collapse is Dr. Robert
Metcalfe, the inventor of Ethernet. People tend to listen to him. Here is
what Dr. Metcalfe wrote in an article published in December 1995:
"But I predict the Internet ... will soon go spectacularly
supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse."
Is he right? Is a collapse of the Internet really going to occur?
Anybody who surfs the web knows of the slowness of accessing WWW
pages. And anybody who has actually set up a DNS server (the thing that
converts www.swc.com to its real address - 199.3.63.203) knows of the problems
that can occur when no central authority controls the entire hierarchy of
names. Yes there are problems with the Internet.
The organizing principle is one of the more interesting aspects of
the Internet - there is no centralized control. It is truly a network of
networks, each of which is administered by a different organization. This
lack of central authority scares some people, particularly beauracratic
types. They truly believe that eventually instability will take over and
the system will fail.
Instead of centralized control, there is common agreement on the technical
interchange aspects of the Internet. These agreements are coordinated by the
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). These agreements define the essence
of the Internet - the protocols that allow interchange between networks without
regard to type of machine or network operating system. These agreements define
all of the Internet protocols like IP, UDP, TCP, FTP, SMTP (mail), HTTP (WWW),
NNTP (Usenet), etc. Without these agreements, the Internet could not exist.
As the Internet grows, some of these agreed upon protocols may no longer
be adequate for the volume of data being exchanged. For example, the routing
protocols were originally built to handle a few thousand addresses. If the
original protocols had been left in place, the Internet would have collapsed
several years ago. But the members of the IETF recognized the routing problem
and created new protocols to handle the growth.
Can the IETF handle the demand for change that a high rate of growth
causes? I believe so. The main reason that the IETF can accomplish what is
required is because it is not a government authority. The IETF is highly
decentralized. And it is not associated with any of the quasi-governmental
standards bodies like ANSI or ISO. It can be responsive because it is not
mired in procedures or politics. The IETF consists of members that have
a large interest in the success of the Internet.
Another of Dr. Metcalfe's concerns is the growing volume of information
being transmitted. The rapid growth of the Internet has led to a huge demand
for bandwidth. From a technology point of view, bandwidth is not a problem.
Fiber optic cable has a huge capacity which is largely untapped today.
Interestingly, Dr. Metcalfe's capacity concern is based on the current
economics of the Internet, not its technology. He writes:
"Furthermore, the Internet's naive flat-rate business model
is incapable of financing the new capacity it would need to
serve continued growth..."
The answer to this concern is simple: the free market. If the Internet
business model does not serve the end customer, it will change. There is no
government edict that says that flat-rate pricing is required. As a matter
of fact, several large Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are now charging for
service based on a concept called "average bandwidth". A customer is charged
based on the "average bandwidth" used during a certain period of time (a day,
a month, etc.). Approaches such as this will continue to serve the customer,
while allowing ISPs to profit and grow their businesses.
So my answer to the question is "No, the Internet is not in danger
of imminent collapse". It may be slow and there will obviously be potholes
along the way, but the future of the Internet is bright.
DB/C Class Schedule
Class Date Location
DB/C 9 Advanced Features Oct 7 through Oct 9 1996 Oak Brook, IL
For information, contact Judi Tamkevic at:
voice 630.572.0240
fax 630.572.0390
email dbc@swc.com